Horoscopes for Feb. 17, 2013

It’s the final full day of the solar journey in Aquarius. This has been a lucky time for creation, invention and innovation. Much work has been done to develop technology and to raise humanity over the past few weeks. After tomorrow, the focus may get fuzzy as we switch into a more spiritual mode of experience.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). People don’t usually turn you down. So if that happens, it’s only because you’re taking risks, casting your net wide and going out of your element. It’s a sign that you’re acting courageously.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). There’s something very satisfying about a good rant, and you might let yourself go on and on, especially in writing. But don’t deliver this writing to anyone. Sit on it awhile. It’s likely that this should be for your eyes only.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Scholarly pursuits will be lucky. If you have a preferred study, this is the ideal day to get into it. But truly, all attempts to expand your mind will be effective, regardless of your primary topic.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). The events that are loudly or broadly promoted are often the least likely to live up to all the hype. Go the other way. Promise little and be very mysterious. Leave room for curiosity.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). If you can’t move the obstacles out of your path, maybe you can move the path. Would it be simpler to go around the blockage? Or could you build over it? Explore new options.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ll give some attention to your image, though you may not mean to do so. Your aim is to create inner harmony. You can’t help it that you become more beautiful because of the changes in your heart.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The important task before you will require you to use your intuition. You won’t know how to do it, and you won’t have to know. You must simply be clear about your desired result and get in motion.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’ll benefit from a power shift. It likely had nothing to do with you, but now you’re in a sweet situation, so take advantage of it. This is a gift. Later, you’ll help others from this auspicious position.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’ll be involved in pursuits of art and/or entertainment. Your success will be judged by the corners of people’s mouths: You win by making them smile.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your powers of concentration will be amplified, and your intensity in general is turned up, too. You’ll have increased physical strength and greater control over your actions.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). If success takes no effort, then it also gives no lesson. And how can you re-create success if there was no action on your part to emulate? Be glad for what you have to work for.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Don’t let contentment lead to inertia. In other words, make yourself comfortable, but not too comfortable. Keep your edge. Be ready to spring forth to take advantage of opportunity.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY. This year challenges you to change your thinking, and you will. March brings new work. Your nearest and dearest will make you proud in April. You’ll change your routine and possibly where you live to accommodate a loved one. An investment pays off in August. The best travel months are July and November. Libra and Cancer people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 3, 11, 45 and 38.

FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: If you’re looking for strict logic or solid reasoning, you may find it early in the week, but it will begin to fade as the Pisces sun gains momentum. Seek instead to understand and stay open to the idea that there are many ways to do something. For instance, a poem and a photograph are both means of communication. A poem can brush up against different parts of the brain, painting a picture that is very different from the realistic view that can be seen through a camera lens. And though the photograph may be more familiar and easier to interpret, that doesn’t make it truer. Photos can lie; they do it all the time. The poem may lack concrete rules and be difficult to understand, and yet it may ring true despite all of that. Mercury goes retrograde in Pisces on Saturday favoring the poetic means of communication. While it will be easy to mix up the facts, it will be much harder to make mistakes about feelings. Emotions have highly identifiable qualities and an integrity all their own. Getting comfortable in the emotional landscape is a theme that continues in the weeks to come.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong recently made his big-screen debut in the Judd Apatow comedy “This Is 40,” playing himself. The Grammy-winning rocker was born when the sun and communication planet Mercury were in spirited, musical Aquarius. With his natal moon and Venus in fiery Aries, the sign of the warrior, rebellion is in his blood.

If you would like to write to Holiday Mathis, please go to www.creators.com and click on “Write the Author” on the Holiday Mathis page, or you may send her a postcard in the mail.